Traffic Ticket Plea Reduction Request

**YOU MUST ENTER A PLEA WITH THE COURT, EITHER BY MAIL OR IN PERSON, AS INSTRUCTED ON YOUR TICKET PRIOR TO APPLYING FOR A REDUCTION**
Proceed to the online Traffic Ticket Plea Reduction Request Form

** THIS PROCESS DOES NOT REPLACE THE NEED FOR YOU TO FOLLOW THE “TO PLEAD BY MAIL” INSTRUCTIONS BY THE RETURN DATE REFLECTED ON THE TICKET **

Failure to submit your plea to the court by the return date may result in suspension of your license.

The Saratoga County District Attorney (DA or DA’s Office) is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal offenses in the county, including Vehicle and Traffic (V&T) infractions.

Notwithstanding submission of a request for a plea reduction through this Online Request for Reduction process, you must comply with any instructions and/or appearance dates that you receive from the court. If you receive a plea offer by email following a request as outlined here that you are ACCEPTING, you DO NOT need to appear in person at court.

You must contact the court if you want to request an adjournment of your court date. Requesting an online reduction/plea bargain does NOT excuse you from any court appearances. It is within the court’s discretion to grant or deny any adjournment requests.

You have the right to retain an attorney. No one in the DA’s Office is permitted to give you advice, legal or otherwise, regarding your request for a plea reduction or your ticket.

If you have been charged with an infraction NOT LISTED IN THE DROP DOWN BOX of the Request Form, you are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply online for a reduction. We encourage you to consult with an attorney or appear in person for your pre-trial conference.

If you have 6 or more tickets issued at the time of the stop, you cannot apply for an offer electronically, you must appear in person for your pre-trial conference.

If you have been charged with a V&T INFRACTION, have plead NOT GUILTY, and would like to receive a plea offer (meaning you would plead guilty to a less serious offense, also referred to as a reduction), follow the instructions below.

If you receive a plea offer by email following a request as outlined here that you are ACCEPTING, you DO NOT need to appear in person at court.

REQUESTS FOR REDUCTION WILL BE REJECTED IF ILLEGIBLE, SMALL OR BLURRY DOCUMENTS ARE ATTACHED, OR IF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS ARE NOT ATTACHED
1. Your ticket(s): clear, legible copies of your ticket(s) (received on the same date in the same location). If you have received tickets on different dates or from different courts, separate applications must be completed.

2. Supporting deposition(s): clear, legible copy(ies) of supporting deposition(s) if received at the time of the stop.

3. Driving record from the Department of Motor Vehicles: a current copy (dated no more than 30 days from the date of application for the requested reduction) of your NYS driving record (abstract). Out-of-state drivers must request their driving record from their own Department of Motor Vehicles.

IF THERE WAS A COLLISION OR ACCIDENT, YOU MUST ALSO ATTACH:
4. A clear and legible copy of the accident/incident report(s) (this can be obtained by the responding law enforcement agency).

5. Proof of insurance valid at the time of the collision for the driver and vehicle involved.

IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A REGISTRATION/INSPECTION/FIX IT TICKET, YOU MUST ALSO ATTACH:
6. Any infraction under Section 375 that is considered a fix it ticket requires proof of correction no later than ½ hour after sunset on the first business day after receipt of the ticket to be considered for dismissal. Proof of correction is required regardless of the time in which the correction was made.

7. If you received an infraction ticket for failure of registration (VTL 401-1A), you must attach proof of valid registration.

8. If you received an infraction ticket for failure of inspection (VTL 306), you must attach proof of valid inspection.

1. Follow the “To Plead by Mail” instructions on the ticket you received, according to the instructions and by the return date on the ticket.

2. Once you have obtained all REQUIRED DOCUMENTS (see above) complete the Request Form.

1. Once your request for a plea reduction is submitted to the DA’s Office, the DA MAY make a plea offer. This offer is valid for sixty (60) days. You have no right to a reduction. Allow up to four (4) weeks for your request to be processed.

2. If all documents are provided as required, the DA’s Office will email you a plea offer at the email address provided by you on the application form. If you do not receive an offer within four (4) weeks of your application, you must contact the court for an appearance date. Be sure to check your spam/junk mail folder.

3. If you receive notice that your online request has been rejected, YOU CANNOT REAPPLY. You must follow the instructions given by the court for further instructions, including personal appearance at a pre-trial conference date as directed by the court.

4. If you accept the plea reduction, you DO NOT need to appear in person at court. You must promptly print and sign it and submit it to the court either by 1) regular mail at the address on the ticket together with a self-addressed, stamped envelope, or 2) in person at court. Emails are not acceptable.

**DO NOT RETURN THE SIGNED PLEA AGREEMENT TO THE DA’S OFFICE. Failure to return the signed plea agreement to the court may result in suspension of your license.

5. If you reject the plea offer, appear for your pre-trial conference as directed by the court.

6. The judge is the final arbiter of your case and will decide whether to accept your plea bargain. If the judge accepts the plea bargain, they will determine the fine and surcharge by regular mail, which you must pay. If the judge does not approve the plea bargain, the judge will schedule your case for trial and send you a trial notice.

7. If either you or the judge rejects the offer, THE DA WILL NOT MAKE ANOTHER OFFER.

8. Information regarding possible points can be found at the NYS DMV.

I cannot upload my attachments to the form – All attachments you upload to the Traffic Ticket Plea Reduction Request Form must be less than 8MB. You can use free web tools like the Adobe PDF Compressor or TinyJPG to quickly reduce file sizes.